Menachem Bluming was asked why we light the shamash. Why not just light a match and from it ignite the candles of that night of Chanukah?

The shamash burns only to serve, it exists for the other. It is happy in its role of igniting, warming and illuminating. It towers over the rest not to lord over them but rather to keep an eye out for them. The shamash’s flame is not minimized in the process, it is only empowered to spread more light.

Our world needs us to serve as the shamash to spread light where it’s dark, warmth where it’s cold, Torah in a place of confusion. To care, to nurture to reach out.